“Dotterel Counterfeit”

[NightWatchman]

Thought the outside small covet feather of an American woodcock had a nice beige tint and thought it might sub well for a Dotterel feather but I was wrong. The barring mark come out too pronounced on the closeup. Oh well.

Hook. ...... Tiemco102Y sz 17
Thread ..... Pearsall’s gossamer yellow
Hackle ..... Outside covert feather of an Amer. Woodcock

[DOUGSDEN]

NightW,
I think it's generally agreed that we are all on the perennial lookout for Dotterel substitutes and on this one, you did good! I don't think that our finny friends are that picky although, they are legendary for selectivity! Let the search continue! Are you finding other good substitutes on other species of birds?
Dougsden

[wsbailey]

This is the bible of north country spiders.

https://archive.org/details/brookrivert ... 2/mode/1up

I wondered where I would ever find a young starling. One day in early March I went to a shopping center and there in front of a store was a frozen young starling.

[Greenwell]

The accepted substitute since Pritt's time has been the inner covert feather from a starling. My guess is that even most of the original Dotterel flies that have survived the ravages of time and moth are actually dressed with this feather. Placed side by side, the two feathers are closer than most other suggested substitutes.
Skues described the color as a "cream in coffee color with lots of cream." There is no barring on a Dotterel feather.

[Theroe]

John
Would it be possible for you to post a close-up photo of an actual dotterel feather? I do not have any, and would like to be able to compare different feathers.

Come to think of it that would be a great sub-section to have, under “materials”. Multiple Pearsalls silk cards have been posted, so why not feathers and dubbing?

Thank you,

Dana

[bearbutt]

Well, here's some genuine Dotterel, framed by Corncrake (top) and Nightjar (bottom). These are iphone snaps, as a quick reply--I;d have to set up the lightbox to take better photos. There's very little barring on a dotterel, as John said, it's more a matter of shading.








bb

[Theroe]

Thank you, Joseph.......I can’t really see them too well, why don’t you send them my way for a closer inspection?

[Updtate]

I am completely confused by this feather. The fly I have just tied uses an inner covert feather from an American Woodcock recently shot . Bye the way the underwing of the European wood cock and the American Woodcock seems completely different to me.

P_20210203_145856.jpg (118.1 KiB) Viewed 5294 times

[bearbutt]

I am completely confused by this feather. The fly I have just tied uses an inner covert feather from an American Woodcock recently shot . Bye the way the underwing of the European wood cock and the American Woodcock seems completely different to me.

Tom,

There are some feathers on the Dotterel that look similar to some Woodcock feather--they both have this orangeish-tan tint--close to the coffee-and-cream John mentions. But it's going to vary from bird-to-bird, from part-of-the-bird to part-of-the bird--so it's hard to generalize. There's also seasonal variation in a lot of the plumage as well--.

That's just talking about color--feather structure is another part of the equation....

[NightWatchman]

Thank you WSBailey,Greenwell and Bearbutt for the very useful postings. The Dotterel is a UK bird I gather so finding one here in the states at an estate sale I guess is betting on very low odds.